I'm flying to Alaska. This time the effort is aimed at photographing sea otters. But then, I'm getting way ahead of myself... Three years earlier, I began a similar trip, one that began my journey into the world of nature photography.

It started on a whim; a chance email from nature photographer Moose Peterson to his mailing list arrived on my desktop: an opening existed on a trip to photograph Grizzly Bears. After a quick, brief phone call to Moose, I signed up! And, now, here I am alone in a nearly deserted airport of a small Alaskan town waiting for my luggage. It had been bumped from the plane in favor of carrying Fed Ex. Packages.

What exactly am I doing here, I wondered? I have no formal training in photography, and virtually all of it has been travel oriented. I've never used a tripod. My longest lens is an Nikon 80-400 VR, and I have been informed I would have "Lens Envy" as everyone else on the trip would have "big glass." And to top it all off, I had a new camera bag (my first); a three week old digital Nikon D1x that replaced my Nikon F100; a rented 17-35 mm wide-angle lens; and no laptop to use to view images!

What am I doing? Less than 24 hours later, after my first close encounter with a Grizzly, I knew the answer. He was no more than 25 feet from me. Somehow, I was in front of the rest of the group. Moose yelled out "Adam, don't move!". After that rush, I knew I was hooked! I knew I wanted to do more of this.

My efforts on that first trip were not very good. But, in the ensuing three years, I have been fortunate to make many similar trips, and to spend many hours watching and photographing amazing wildlife and beautiful scenery. I've become much more skilled and knowledgeable. My photos are beginning to look like a professional's. And in looking back, I realize I've had the opportunity to compress the normal process of learning nature photography into a very short period. This compression of the unintended journey has allowed me to see the key elements that contributed to the progress. The lens that I've used to obtain successful nature images has the following elements:

Element 1: Enjoy the outdoors (but, it's cold out there!)

The concept of nature photography seems quite glamorous, but the reality is often quite different. Your place of work is outdoors. That may seem really obvious, but if you find things like: incessantly shooing away flies the size of a house, scratching mosquito bites, inhaling no-see-ums, and getting muddy, an anathema; you need to do something else! If getting up at 4:30 AM and not getting back to your room until 9:00 PM for six days in a row seems like a hardship, perhaps you should investigate sports photography! And, then too, if being really hot or freezing cold is an issue, you best find another venue in which you can explore your creativity!

Element 2: Physical attributes (The Terminator, Superman, and Wonderwoman all-in-one)

Can you hold five pounds at eye level and keep it steady for five minutes? That's the approximate weight of a Nikon D1h and 300 mm Nikon lens. Are you capable of carrying 18 pounds of tripod, 500mm lens, and SLR body for two or three miles over rough territory? Have you lifted 40 pounds of gear in your favorite camera bag into the overhead storage compartment of your favorite airline lately?

Is your eyesight correctable to 20/50 or better? Can you hear the soft call of a pygmy owl to its mate as it searches for a meal in the middle of the night?

If not, you may never get that chance to push the shutter button and capture the image of a lifetime! Yes, it takes a certain amount of conditioning, and good physical health to be a good nature photographer. Don't deny it, accept it as fact. Do something about it: Get in shape; go see your eye doctor.

Element 3: Be a Looky-Loo (Don't stop staring now)

It is essential for a photographer to be interested (if not involved) in watching the subject! More than once I've caught myself staring in amazement at some lively action, completely forgetting to look through the viewfinder or to push the shutter button! I know professional photographers who have said the same thing. If I never captured any great images, I would feel the costs and efforts involved have been more than justified by the nature I had seen. For me, photography is a by-product that insures I can relive my watching and share it with others. It is the frosting on the cake.

Element 4: Focus (It's the background stupid!)

Liking to watch life is one thing, but learning to channel that act into making an insanely great image is several steps beyond!

In principle, it is simple: capture great light falling on an interesting subject placed in an appropriate place in the frame. The whole idea here is to get the eye of the viewer to focus on our subject... Well, how difficult could that be?

Creating this element in my nature photography lens has been difficult for me. I thought I had a good eye for composition but I had a big problem: I inherently center the subject in the frame. Why else would Nikon put that sensor right-smack-dab in the center of the viewfinder? And, if the rule of thirds is so darn important, why don't they put the auto-focus sensors there? After more than 25,000 images, I still struggle against this tendency. I know I'm not alone in this respect.

Yet, getting the image in the right spot in the frame isn't all. Once I showed an image I captured of a puffin in mid-flight to an expert. "Too bad you've got that bright, white, gull in the background!" he said. Wow, that made me mad. The gull was way, way in the background; it was just a little, white blotch; I couldn't control it; and besides what was he doing looking at something other than my intended subject, anyway!

I didn't get it.

But I do now! If you've got something distracting in the background you've got a less than desireable image. The background must either complement with what's happening in the foreground or be "unseen" by the viewer. The background is truly as important as the subject in making a fabulous image.

And add to that the issue of focusing on the behavior of the subject. Its actions are a precursor to what will happen next. Learning about animal or bird behavior really gets me to anticipate the action. It greatly increases the odds of capturing a good image.

Element 5: Get a Mentor ("What were you thinking when you took this picture?")

The person I consider a mentor (though he may not consider himself to be playing this role) once said to me: "What were you possibly thinking about when you took this picture?" Quite obviously, I liked the picture... I wouldn't have shown it to him otherwise. It was just as obvious that he really didn't like it. And, I didn't like his answer! But I accepted it, respected it, and learned something about his standards for judging an image.

So there you are. Find someone whose skill far exceeds yours; whose integrity is unquestioned; and who will look at your images and give you their honest opinion... the good, the bad, and the ugly. Someone whose opinion you will accept! Choose wisely because nothing's more valuable than learning the standards that professionals use to judge their work.

Learning these standards any other way is exceedingly difficult and time consuming.

Lastly, don't think that friends and peers can do what a mentor does. They can't, but they do perform another valuable role.

Element 6: Find a Peer (Show-off Your Images)

Peers have played an important role in the development of my photography. They have been a source of information about new tools or new ways to use a program. They've helped in defining my sense of "style". When I've gone on a shoot and expressed difficulties, they've often indicated the kinds of problems they've had in similar circumstances. They, along with friends and families, are your fans giving you the encouragement to continue on. I was very pleased when a friend said: "Wow, your images have really changed in the last month. You've broken through some level!"

So take good care to find some peers and friends who appreciate your efforts.

Element 7: Get good equipment (Bigger is better unless it is smaller.)

Yes, I tried getting around it... I've got a great shot of a hawk while hand-holding an inexpensive f4.5 - f56. 300mm lens. It's a tack-sharp black dot in a nice blue sky!

It is very frustrating. Wildlife and bird photography are (for the most part) about getting big, detailed, tack-sharp images of wildlife with no distracting backgrounds. And, that is the providence of big telephotos with narrow angles of view. A big telephoto lens is very heavy, which means your tripod will probably not handle the weight. And, you won't like your old ball-head with that big lens, so you'll want a new one (like the Wimberley). Oh, don't forget about the new quick release plates you'll need for each of your lenses!

Speed is another issue I've fought against. Too many times, I've compared my images of a scene captured at three frames per second against those captured at five frames per second. Could I compete? Yes, sometimes, but mathematically they had 40% more frames than I, and they substantially increased their odds of capturing just the right action.

Because it is expensive, I've fought against it. But, there is no way around it: new or used; purchased or rented; good equipment are essential tools of the wildlife photographer. The only option here is going small... real small. Do macro wildlife photography instead. It's very interesting and can be accomplished at a reasonable cost.

Element 8: Develop Computer skills ("I'm not going digital; I'm staying with film!")

It is my opinion that in the next five to ten years the vast majority of all images will be captured digitally. But I do understand your attachment to film and know it will continue to be used. Because of this, you think you need not develop any digital skills. But you are wrong!

Will you never send an image electronically? No digital submissions for you? How about your web site? You don't want to scan you transparencies for submission to your web master? No need to remove a scratch in one of them?

I simply don't believe that a professional photographer will be able survive without developing a strong set of digital imaging skills. It's a "pay me now or pay me a lot more later" kind of deal.

Element 9: Shoot, Shoot, Shoot (Practice makes perfect)

Like almost all skills, there is no substitute for practice and repetition. The more frequently you take out the equipment to photograph, the faster you develop the necessary eye/hand co-ordination needed to take sharp photos. Then too, the more images you take, the quicker your sense of what works and what doesn't work develops. Finally, the faster your sense of your style will occur. I could not have captured the vertical Great Egret image with out a lot of previously failed attempts. By spending about three hours a week at a local reserve (Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach, CA) photographing birds, my skill level increased immeasurably.

In the two and half years since my foray into the world of nature photography, I've taken more than 30,000 images (try that with film)!

I have a lot more to learn. I am hopeful that in six months, I will be able to write about additional elements I've discovered, and about new skills I've acquired.

I realize that as long as my desire is high and health permits, this unintended journey is endless. How great is that!

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